Vital Communities and the nonprofit Vermont FEED program are inviting Upper Valley educators, students, social workers and area residents to enroll in a farm-to-school course that begins this month.

Friday is the deadline to sign up for the course, which will meet at Claremont Middle School on Oct. 22, Nov. 19, Dec. 3 and 17, and Jan. 7 and 14. The three-hour sessions, which are free to enrollees not taking the course for professional credit, cover topics ranging from starting and maintaining school gardens to cooking.

“We have had 55 participants go through the course from 25 schools and organizations,” Beth Roy, Vital Communities’ farm-to-school coordinator, wrote during an exchange of emails last week. “We have had teachers, behavioral interventionists, caretakers, curriculum coordinators, community members, food service professionals, IT professionals, librarians, para-educators, principals (and) speech pathologists.”

Among the Upper Valley schools that have sent educators for professional development as well as students is Canaan Elementary, which Roy said “paired up with D Acres (the permaculture farm in Dorchester) to do some great work with their school gardens and composting. … Sharon Elementary has been an exemplar … with their gardens and cooking education as well as their overall ‘place-based’ education work. And Unity Elementary has many school gardens and some greenhouse space.”

To register for the course and learn more, visit vitalcommunities.org/valleyfoodfarm and click on “farm to school,” or reach out to Beth Roy at beth@vitalcommunities.org or 802-291-9100, ext. 105.

Social Justice

The Woodstock Social Justice Initiative hosts the second annual John Brown Day Anti-Racism Conference on Saturday at Woodstock Union High School.

The theme of the gathering, which honors the memory of abolitionist John Brown, is “Creating a Future Beyond Prisons.” Activities include workshops led by the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (10:30 to 11:30 a.m.), Vermont Law School’s Center for Justice Reform (12:30 to 1:30 p.m.) and Migrant Justice (1:30 to 2:30). Throughout the day, space will be available for young people to discuss what they learn during the day.

Admission is by donation; registration runs from 8:15 to 9 a.m. To learn more, visit wsji.wordpress.com.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)

More than 35 eighth-graders from Oxbow High School exhibited their skills during the inaugural Northeast Kingdom STEM Career Fair in Sheffield, Vt., on Sept. 20.

Activities included building “scribble bots,” dissecting and identifying fish, solving logic puzzles and writing code to control robots.

Oxbow participants, led by school counselor Katherine Chobanian, were Michael Aldrich, Carter Andrews, Clara Bartlett, Xavier Beaudin, Mitchell Benware, Rose Bohan, Jabez Bolles, Ryland Cahill, Calvin Carbee, Abagail Carson, Donovin Chase, Isabelle Chen, Mackenzie Clogston, Caide Covey, Vada Gilmore, Kyra Gilrain, Cameron Grant, Brianna Gray, Cassidy Hood, Noell Koslowsky, Chase Lund, Cheyenne Magoon, Lois Manning, Rylee McLam, Alex McNulty, Aidan Morse, Grace Nostrant, Hayden Palmer, Kaden Perry, Makenna Simmons, Isiah Stocking, Caitlyn Swantak, Aidan Warner, Dylan Williams, Jeffrey Young and Meredith Young.

Early Education

Upper Valley school districts on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River will receive almost $650,000 from the state Department of Education during this academic year to help cover the expense of teaching kindergarten students throughout the school day.

The grants, totaling almost $11 million statewide, come from revenue from the state’s Keno lottery game.

With 140 kindergartners, Claremont is scheduled to collect $154,524, while Lebanon will receive almost $119,000 for its 108 students. The five towns in the Mascoma Valley Regional School District will share more than $80,500 for 70 students. Hanover is due $76,850 toward 69 students and Haverhill is on tap for $60,500-plus for 55 pupils.

To Your Health

The Vermont State School Nurses’ Association on Saturday will honor Springfield High School’s Jenny Anderson as its 2018 School Nurse of the Year.

Colleagues from around Vermont nominated Anderson for what the association describes as “her outstanding commitment to students and the community” during more than 25 years at Springfield High. She leads the Springfield School District’s wellness committee, and serves on the statewide School Nurse Advisory Council to promote education of new nurses.

The award will be presented during the association’s fall conference in St. Johnsbury.

David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and at 603-727-3304.

Education news can be sent to schoolnotes@vnews.com.